Amusement apparatus.



No. 801,945. PATENTED 001?. 17, 1905. A. A. WELSH; AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JANJB. 1905.

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APPLICATION FILED JAN 18, 1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1905.

Application filed January 18, 1905. Serial No. 241,704.

To all whorlt it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADAM A. WELSH, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a certain new and usefulAmusement'Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Objects of the present invention are to provide an amusement apparatuswhich shall be comparatively inexpensive in construction and operation,yet capable of affording varied, attractive, and safe pleasure to itspatrons; to combine in one device the pleasures of riding in the sameboats or conveyances upon a course or track and upon a waterway in suchmanner that undue splashing upon entering the water is avoided, while atthe same time the boats or conveyances may be adjustably guided into thewater.

To these and other ends hereinafter set forth the invention, stated ingeneral terms, comprises the improvements to be presently described andfinally claimed.

The nature, characteristic features, and scope of the invention will bemore fully understood from the following description, taken inconnection with the accompanying draw ings, forming part hereof, and inwhich Figure 1 is a top-or plan view illustrating apparatus embodyingfeatures of the invention. Fig. 2 is an elevational view illustratingthe portion of the apparatus where the boats are transferred from thewater to the inclined way. Fig. 3 is an elevational view illustratingmeans for properly guiding the boats into the water. Fig. 4 is asectional view illustrating the forebay where the boats aredelivered'into the water. Fig. 5 illustrates in elevation andcross-section a safety device, and Fig. 6 comprises side and front viewsof means for connecting the boats and conveyers.

In the drawings, 1 is a canal of generally U shape. It is arrangedhorizontally and constructed either above or below the level of theground. It is adapted for boats to pass through it, and the boats arepropelled by water which runs through the canal. The ends of the canalare connected together by a conduit or fiume 2, in which there isinterposed a pump 3, shown as of the centrifugal variety.

4 is a branch conduit which leads from the pump to the canal.

The pump 3 operates to produce a circulation of water through the canalor waterway 1 and through the conduits 2 and 4. The conduit 2 may be ofany requisite cross-section and may, if desired, be covered, which isobviously advantageous.

5 is a U-shaped track or way mounted upon suitable trestles and arrangedso as to be somewhat inclined in order that the boats and conveyancesmay traverse it under the influence of gravity.

The ends of the U-shaped track and of the U-shaped canal are alined witheach other, and between their abutting ends there is interposed anelevator or lift 6 and a declivity, so that boats or conveyancestraverse the canal, for example, in the direction indicated by thearrows. They are then engaged by an endless elevating-chain 8, whichwithdraws them at the proper speed from the canal and delivers them tothe elevating-chain 9, which in its turn delivers them to the track orway at the top of the trestles. Here the boats or conveyances, which areprovided with appropriate wheels, traverse the track or way and descendthe chute or declivity 7, again reaching the canal 1. However, at theend of the declivity 7 there is an adjustable guide shown as a tongue10, hinged at 11 and having its free end supported by an adjusting-screw12, so that the free end of the tongue may be more or less elevatedaccording, for example, to the depth of the water in the canal and inthis way caused to operate to properly deliver the boats or conveyancesinto the water.

The portion of the canal adjacent the foot of the declivity constitutesa forebay13, constructed by outwardly inclining the walls of the canal,so that the splash which occurs when the boats alight upon the waterescapes by reason of the inclined walls, and all danger of wetting thepassengers is thus obviated.

14 is a motor shown as geared to a countershaft 15 havingsprocket-and-chain connection with the shaft 16, which carries one ofthe sprocket-W11 eels that appertains to the elevator cable or chain 9.The shaft 17 is provided with a sprocket-wheel that appertains to theelevator-chain 9 and also with the sprocketwheel that appertains to theelevator-chain 8. The number of teeth upon these sprocket wheels may beso arranged as todrive the chains 8 and 9 at the same or atappropriately different speeds.

18 represents connections for driving the pump 3.

The catches 19, pivoted, as at 20, and arranged at appropriate intervalsalong the elevator by turning serve to permit the boats to ascend, butprevent their descent.

21 represents claws pivoted, as at 22, and secured to the bottoms of theboats.

23 represents abutments which prevent the claws from turning except inone direction.

24 is a cable or the like provided with projections 25. The cable takesinto the space 26 in the claws and the projections cause the cable todraw the boats along with it up the incline. After the boats leave thecables the claws 21 are capable of turning toward the right in Fig. 6away from the abutment 23.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates that modifica tions may be made in details without departingfrom the spirit thereof. Hence the invention is not limited further thanthe prior state of the art may require; but,

Having thus described the nature and objects of myinvention, what Iclaimas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An amusement apparatus comprising-a U-shaped level canal and aU-shaped elevated inclined track or way having their ends alined,

a transversely-ranging conduit or flume provided with a pump andconnecting the ends of the canal, an inclined elevator and itscomplemental conveyer interposed between adjacent ends of the canal andway, and a chute interposed between adjacent ends of the canal and way,substantially as described. v

2. The combination with acanal and a chute, of a forebay interposedbetween the two and consisting of a receptacle having sloping walls,substantially as described.

3. The combination with a canal having at its entrance outwardly-slopingWalls, and a chute for delivering boats into the entrance of the canal,substantially as described.

4. The combination of a, canal, a chute for delivering boats into thecanal, a tongue pivotally mounted at the end of the chute, and means foradjusting the tongue, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

ADAM A. WELSH. In presence of W. J. JACKSON, K. M. GILLIGAN.

